Cactus Amidst Meticulously Groomed Dracaena Trees

“Good morning. I’d like to withdraw $368,000 please.”

Vonn forced himself to stifle an unprofessional guffaw. She had to be joking. There was no way the woman standing on the opposite side of the counter had the means to make that sort of withdrawal. He knew all of the bank’s customers that dealt in high number transactions. They were here all the time and he’d never seen this woman before. That was enough of a tell on its own.

“Our bank has certain limits to daily withdrawals for most customers. I’m going to need to get some information from you,” he said. His voice was warm, cordial.

The corner of the woman’s lip twitched. It was a disconcerting gesture that suggested that something was wrong.

“I’m certain you’ll make an exception in this instance,” she said.

The alarm bells were ringing before Vonn managed to fully interpret the situation.

The woman was small. Mousy was the word that leapt into the foreground of his mind to describe her. She had dull brown hair that needed a bit of attention. The cut was standard, if not old and it was pulled back into a low and simple ponytail. She wore no makeup. Her peachy, smooth skin didn’t need significant concealment, but he noted the smattering of imperfections—freckles, a faded scar, an oily patch at the bridge of her nose—that would drive most women to the task of applying foundation. Her clothes were neat, but plain—a tidy white blouse with one too many buttons undone in the front tucked into high-waisted navy trousers that hugged just a hair too tightly across her hips… and a pair of sneakers.

The sneakers looked brand new.

All the information collected in his parietal lobe and collided with the rest of the sensory information his surroundings provided. It was a quiet Wednesday morning. She walked in at 10:13 am—not right after opening, but not late enough in the morning to mingle with the armored trucks making their exchanges or the pre-lunch rush of business deposits. She almost looked like she belonged in the ritzy lobby with polished marble floors and high ceilings, but she didn’t. She was a cactus amidst meticulously groomed Dracaena Trees.

The same way she came across as both common and attractive. She looked like she didn’t fit in with herself. Something just felt… wrong. Vonn’s brain picked up on this in about four seconds. The problem was, though, that he didn’t trust it. He wanted to understand why she seemed so odd.

It wasn’t Vonn’s job to figure her out. It was his job to push the little button under his counter that silently alerted the bank’s security, then keep her there until someone responded. But for some reason (likely the same some reason he found her so compelling) he didn’t push the button.

“I see. Well let’s find out, okay?”

She offered a curt nod in response to his warm smile. She was nervous. Vonn wondered when the other shoe would drop and he’d be forced to view this as an unquestionable bank job.

“Can I get your name?” He asked. He kept both of his hands obviously, purposefully on the counter.

“I don’t think that would be wise,” she said. She was completely incapable of taking her eyes off his hands.

“Hmm, well, it’s going to be difficult for me to authorize a withdrawal without some form of identification,” Vonn said. He was certain this was a bank job.

“Don’t worry, you’ll find a way,” the woman said coolly. Though nothing about her demeanor had changed, Vonn felt himself transfixed by a golden glint in her eyes.

Vonn busied himself with one of the pens with Goodwell Banking Brothers inscribed on the side. His hands were itchy to do something, but he knew she was still watching them. It made him wish that he could study her hands, which were out of view below the counter.

“What account will you be making the withdrawal from?” he asked.

One of her hands appeared above the silver-veined marble and perched on the brown leather strap of her over-sized handbag. Her fingers were long and slender. Her nails were short and meticulously sculpted. The word innocuous came to mind.

“It doesn’t matter which one. I just need $368,000,” she said.

There it was, proof this was a robbery. He should push the button now. He knew it had to be done, but his hands remained, inexplicably, perched on the counter, fiddling with the pen.

Had she rolled her eyes at him?

“I’m sure you know that’s not how banks work, ma’am,” Vonn said. He was being far too flippant for the situation.

“I’m sure you know that I don’t care,” the woman said, before offering a devilishly mischievous smile and adding, “and don’t call me ma’am.”

Vonn’s jaw dropped. It took him a beat too long to recover from her quip.

“Then what should I call you?”

“Bonnie will do just fine,” she said, widening her grin.

“But that’s not your name?” he asked.

“You know it’s not,” she confirmed.

“Alright, Bonnie. You do know I can’t do what you’re asking me to do, right?” he asked.

“Sure, I know. But I know you’re going to do it anyway,” she said.

“What makes you think that?” Vonn balked.

Bonnie leaned forward, placing both hands on the counter. She craned her neck and made a big show of checking out the entire floor before returning her gaze to his. Her eyes were warm and brilliantly lit with good nature.

“Because you haven’t pressed the button,” she said, giving a conspiratorial wink.

He should have pressed the button. In fact, he had no clue why he hadn’t yet. This was a bank robbery, through and through. He’d been trained in how to deal with this exact sort of situation, and yet he hadn’t done a single thing he’d been trained to do…

Was he afraid to? Did he fear that she had some terrible weapon trained on him at this very second, making him fear for his own life and the life of the others in the bank?

No. It certainly wasn’t that.

She had given no indication that she was armed or that his or anyone else’s life was in danger.

So why wasn’t he reacting?

Vonn didn’t know. He seemed utterly incapable of reacting correctly to this so-called Bonnie.

“Hey, I’m in just a little bit of a hurry, so can we get this withdrawal done?” she asked, interrupting his cognitive paralysis.

“I told you, I can’t do it…” Vonn said, but nothing about his tone was convincing.

“Do you want some suggestions how you could do it?” she asked.

“I know how to make a withdrawal!” He snapped back defensively.

She put her hands out in front of her in an appeasing gesture. “Hey, I know. I’m not telling you how to do your job. I figured that maybe you haven’t been in this situation before and might like a few suggestions.”

“How would you know I’ve never been in this situation before?” he asked, hackles still raised, despite her disarming approach.

“I don’t think many bankers have been. It’s not every day you have to make an illegal draw,” Bonnie said.

She propped her chin on an open palm so that she was leaning in an almost-alluring fashion on the counter. It gave Vonn the illusion that she might lean straight into him. Briefly, he wished he could catch a glimpse from the entrance. His cheeks flushed with the thought.

“Alright. How would you suggest I do it?” he asked, eager to get his mind headed in a different direction.

Her eyes flashed up to meet his. The gold flecks sparkling under dark lashes making him woozy.

“Take point two percent from each of your top accounts until you’ve hit $368,000,” she said.

“That would take…” Vonn paused to do some mental math.

“Fewer than ten accounts,” She finished for him.

Vonn’s eyes widened in surprised. He raised an eyebrow at her and asked, “Been doing your homework?”

“It’s not like I cased the joint, if that’s what you’re asking. It’s just statistics,” she said.

“Statistic,” Vonn mused.

“Yeah,” Bonnie agreed. “This is one of the top banks in the nation. It doesn’t even take an internet search to figure out who does their banking here. Money is basically bleeding into those accounts—your banks money at that!”

“It’s not my bank. I only work her,” Vonn protested.

“Even more reason for you to just do it! Don’t worry about money you aren’t invested in!” Bonnie pressed.

Vonn paused, seeming to weigh her argument.

“I’d lose my job,” he said.

“You don’t need your job,” Bonnie countered.

“Of course I do!” He protested.

Bonnie scooted forward, drawing his attention downward again. Her face was inches away from the bullet proof plexiglass that separated them. Vonn leaned in, pulled as if by some gravitational force, completely unconscious to his actions.

“Not if you came with me,” she said in a low, seductive voice.

Vonn glanced over his shoulder, overwhelmed by the sensation that someone was eavesdropping on their conversation.

“Why would I come with you?” he hissed under his breath.

“Do you have a family?” she asked.

“Doesn’t everyone?” He countered.

“A wife and children?” She clarified.

“No.”

“A girlfriend?”

“No.”

“Boyfriend?”

“I like women,” he said.

She put up a finger as if to correct him, “Don’t get defensive.”

Vonn bit his lip, feeling his own flesh move between his teeth.

“Perhaps that’s pertinent to the conversation in another way,” He said, widening his eyes in a downward glance.

“I’m flattered Mr. Clyde!” Bonnie said in an artificial gasp.

“My name’s not… oh.”

“Come with me,” she pressed.

“My mother needs me.”

“Does she live with you?”

“She lives in Manhattan,” he said.

“Then she doesn’t need you.”

Vonn’s mind raced. Too many thoughts and possibilities colliding with one another.

“There’s nowhere to go,” he said.

“I have passports and a private jet ready to go,” she said.

“With $368,000?” Vonn scoffed.

“We’re taking so much more than that,” Bonnie corrected.

“You said $368,000.”

“If I’d said anything else you wouldn’t have stopped long enough to get to this point,” Bonnie said.

She was right. Vonn was struck by how good she was. So very good.

“You’ll bail and hang me out to dry,” he said.

Of course she would. She was too good not to. How many banks had she already hit? How many suckers had she fed to the justice system? If he pulled the money he would be the criminal, not her. He wasn’t at gunpoint. There was no threat.

He would be the robber.

“Only if I don’t like you,” she said.

“I’m supposed to bet the rest of my life on that?” he asked.

“That and millions of dollars from accounts that will never miss it,” she said.

It was true. With the sorts of compound interest the top accounts accumulated it would take quite a while before the withdrawal would register.

“Why me?” he asked. It was the most important question. However she answered it, his life would be irrevocably changed.

“Why not you? You’re genuine, you’re kind… handsome…”

“Is that it?” his words were flat.

“You stopped and listened to me—really listened. Who does that? For a complete stranger that sounds absolutely insane? No one. Except you,” She said.

Why had he stopped to hear her out—this off-kilter, out of place human with a wild scheme?

“What if I just liked the way you walked? The sway of your hips, curve of your blouse… the way your lips move when you talk?” He pressed. For a moment he thought that maybe that was all it was. He was an animal and she was… desirable.

“I might believe you… if you hadn’t been looking at my eyes,” she said.

“You have beautiful eyes,” he pointed out.

“And legs that go all the way up,” she added.

“I’ve never understood that statement. Don’t all legs go all the way up?” Vonn asked.

Bonnie laughed.

“Yeah, they do. But some better than others.”

Vonn nodded in agreement. Some did do the job better than others.

“But this isn’t about legs. I’ve got a feeling about you, Vonn,” she said.

His name on her lips lightened him. It made him want to use her real name.

“How can you get that sort of feeling from someone in such a short time?” He asked.

“How did you get your feeling about me in such a short time?” she asked.

She had a point.

“So, what? You just walked into a bank, deciding to rob it and picked me?” he asked.

Bonnie bit her lip. She glanced down, her confidence faltering for the first time. When she looked up, he was taken by the brilliant gold once more.

“I walked in with this deposit for my boss. I was watching you while I waited and suddenly the words just came out. I’ve always fantasized about something like this, but I never thought I’d ever actually try until I met you.”

She withdrew an envelope from her bag and slid it under the glass.

Cautiously, Vonn picked it up and slid out the slip for the $368,000 deposit. He looked between it and her, dumbstruck.

“You really mean it, don’t you?” He asked.

“I think I do,” she said.

Time stopped and the air between them became electric. Vonn noted a buzzing below his finger tips as he accessed the system.

“Do you really have an exit plan?” He breathed.

“My boss has a liner always on hold. We can use that to get out,” she said.

“And you’re willing to leave it all behind for a shot at this? With me?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said with such finality that it made his heart flutter.

“I’ve got twenty-six transfers cued. How are we getting out of here?” he asked.

“Limo is waiting out front,” she said.

Vonn glanced over her shoulder to the dark stretcher idling under the awning out front. He tapped a few more commands into the system then put his computer on standby.

“Excuse me for one second,” he said, pushing away from the counter.

She stepped back from the counter and watched him retreat to the back offices.

Each step Vonn took felt like a trip into the clouds. He was dissociating from his body. It occurred to him that he might die before he made it to the exit.

“You okay Bud?” Andy Goodwell asked.

Nephew to Ezra Goodwell, Andy was technically his boss, but Vonn had never taken much to liking or respecting him.

“Just helped a customer with a big transaction. Gonna get a breath of fresh air and walk her out,” Vonn said.

“Makin’ deals and takin’ names,” Andy said. He pumped his fist then offered his hand for a high-five.

Vonn connected with a loud smack before ducking out the door.

Bonnie was waiting for him in the lobby. He offered the crook of his arm, which she took. The connection made his heart race. He glanced down to see she shared his goofy, ecstatic grin.

They ducked into the limo together. Vonn ran his hands along the plush corinthan leather seats, still not certain if this were real.

Bonnie tapped on the glass so that the driver lowered it.

“Inverness Private Airway,” she said.

The driver nodded and the glass went up again. She settled next to them as the limo pulled away.

“How much did you take?” Bonnie asked, pulling his hand into her lap.

“Fifty-eight million,” Vonn said.

Bonnie let out a low whistle. The limo merged onto the interstate, disappearing into the sea of westbound vehicles.

“You wanna hear the ironic part?” he asked, playing his thumb over the soft skin of her fingers.

“Tell me,” she said.

“That’s not even that much. It might be months before someone notices if it weren’t for how I left,” he said.

“Well, Mr. Clyde. I’m impressed.

“What can I say? You inspire me Bonnie,” he said, pulling her into his arms.

Her lips met his. The kiss was electric. Vaguely, Vonn noted the movement of the vehicle as it sped on its way. The sound of other cars played like white noise.

The scenery shifted to expansive desert as they left Phoenix proper. Cactuses spotted the vast expanse of red rock and loose sand. Outside the air was hot and dry, but his life was a cool, wet kiss.